He says he sees similarities to the five-time, first-team All Pro in the player he’ll be lining up next to in the coming season, Michael Griffin.

“You look at Michael Griffin and he’s a guy who reminds me a lot of Ed Reed,” Pollard said during a recent phone interview. “When I was in Baltimore the last couple of years, they called us ‘get ‘em and hit ‘em’ because (Reed) would get (receivers) and I would hit them. (Griffin) is a guy who’s like that. So it could be a lot of fun.”

Griffin and Pollard won’t be the only safeties with plenty of starting experience for the Titans, as the team also signed veteran George Wilson, who started 55 games in eight years for Buffalo – including 29 over the past two seasons.

“This is going to be a lot of fun for all three of us to go out there and piggyback off each other,” Pollard said. “You look at (defensive coordinator Jerry Gray) and some of the different packages he has. He’s trying to bring the best out of every player he has. I think he’s going to go in every game this year using all his weapons and that’s a great thing.”

Reed was initially suspended for this Sunday’s game – and penalized a $423,529 game-check — for what the league termed a pattern of helmet-to-helmet hits. His latest hit came last Sunday, when Reed was flagged for an unnecessary roughness call against Steelers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders.

Upon appeal, the league overturned the suspension and lowered the fine to $50,000.

But the entire ordeal was still enough to bother Griffin, who has been fined twice this season — $15,000 for a helmet-to-helmet hit and $21,000 for a horse-collar tackle. Griffin escaped a fine despite another helmet-to-helmet hit against the Bills.

“I wonder since I got a horse collar this year and a helmet-to-helmet hit, what would be my next fine?” Griffin said. “What would the league do to me? As a defensive player, it puts you in a tough situation because they say you can go low (on a tackle), but if I go low and it’s a deep pass (completed), it’s a big play. And as a secondary, you don’t want to give up the big play.”

Griffin said he thinks that even if the league suspends players, it should set a universal fine amount for all players instead of taking away game checks.

“I don’t think you should fine a game check because everyone’s is different because of the salaries,” Griffin said. “You’re talking about half a million dollars (for Reed) for a hit that wasn’t even that bad of a hit compared to what I’ve seen.”

Griffin has appealed both his fines, but hasn’t heard results on either appeal.

“I’m just mad he already got his appeal already and mine hasn’t come in for either one,” Griffin said. “I’m still $41,000 in the hole.”

Chris Johnson runs away from Marques Douglas of the Ravens during a playoff game after the 2008 season. (Dipti Vaidya / The Tennessean)

The Ravens didn’t intentionally try to hurt running back Chris Johnson in their last meeting against the Titans, safety Ed Reed promised on Wednesday.

“Nothing is ever intentional to try and take any guy out,” Reed said during a conference call with Nashville reporters. “My game has never been like that and I know these guys don’t play like that either.”

Johnson suffered a sprained ankle in a 13-10 playoff loss to the Ravens at the end of the 2008 season. Johnson had 72 yards and a touchdown late in the first half of that game, but didn’t return. He ended up missing the Pro Bowl because of the injury.

Some Titans, and some of the team’s fans, wondered if the Ravens intentionally tried to take Johnson out of the game, twisting and turning him on a play involving linebackers Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs well after the whistle. It occurred just a few plays before Johnson was injured.

“Chris didn’t get hurt on that play,” Reed said. “He had his back stretched out a little bit, but that wasn’t the play that hurt his ankle. He got hurt on another play, when I want to say it was (nose tackle) Brandon McKinney fell on his ankle on the sideline. Any time you get a guy like Chris Johnson, his size, and one of those d-linemen fall on you, it’s going to be tough.

“I talked to Chris after that and was like, ‘Everything is in between the whistle.’ “

Griffin was the Titans’ second-leading tackler (108, including 86 solo) while making a team-leading four interceptions. The All-Pro recognition is a first for Griffin, who went to the Pro Bowl in 2008.